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As I drove from winery to winery in northern California recently, I kept encountering two refrains. One was Don't Stop Believing, a 1981 power-ballad by San Francisco band Journey apparently beloved by listeners of The Hawk, a fine Modesto classic-rock station. The other was the wine industry's universal new mantra: "$20 is the new $50."

It's obvious that prices for super-luxury wine, especially in Napa Valley, where grape leaves might as well be greenbacks, have been buffered from The Downturn by the bottomless wealth of people who can afford $100-a-bottle wine in the first place.

But it's clear to many producers that consumers who used to buy, say, mere $40 and $50 quaffs are running for cover, specifically the cover of $20.

Not that $20 is pocket change for most of us. It's still serious money if you consume as much wine as people tend to do at my favourite dinner parties. Wine is ephemeral. It's designed to disappear over the course of a meal, faster if it's really good and the meal runs over several courses.

So, let's have a look at a few producers who this week are delivering thrilling juice at under $20.

Not too surprisingly, most of my choices today hail from the southern French region of Languedoc-Roussillon, once the country's lake of plonk and now its fountainhead of tantalizing, high-quality bargains.

Released today in Ontario through Vintages fine-wine stores is my top under-$20 selection: Château de Fontenelles Cuvée Notre Dame 2006 ($16.95, No. 106518). A blend of syrah, grenache and carignan, it hails from the Corbières appellation. There's lots going on in this full-bodied, unmistakably French wine. Chewy and dense, it's almost sticky with astringent, youthful tannins. Let your imagination run loose and you might conjure up sweet berries, savoury overtones of wild herbs, charred wood and coffee. The wine took home a couple of French gold medals. This red, like the rest of the French selections below, is very versatile but would match especially well with braised-meat dishes and stews.

The next four reds also are available starting today at Ontario Vintages stores.

Made by the large Rhone Valley producer Michel Chapoutier but in the less-vaunted real estate of the Roussillon-Villages appellation, Domaine de Bila-Haut Occultum Lapidem 2006 ($19.95, No. 643239) puts me in mind of a farmhouse after a wild-game hunt, though I'm not sure I've been in a farmhouse after a wild-game hunt. A smoked-meat nuance on the nose prefaces a silky palate hinting at roasted meat, fennel and spice. Slightly gritty tannins give it added textural interest and, likely, the prospect of three to five more years of cellar-worthiness.

From nearby in the Roussillon comes Domaine Marcevol Tradition 2005 ($17.95, No. 103713), made from organic grapes. Medium-bodied and fresh, it's layered with a garden of flavours, from raspberry to rosemary, with a tangy, mineral-like finish. It's fresh and earthy at the same time.

From the Faugères appellation, there's Abbaye de Sylva Plana La Closeraie 2005 ($19.95, No. 104737), a blend of carignan, syrah, grenache and mourvedre. Medium full-bodied, it's round and silky at first, showing vanilla, licorice and spice, then finishes with an astringent grip.

And offering remarkable value, especially in Quebec, is Clos Bagatelle Cuvée Tradition 2007 ($14.95 in Ontario, No. 103655; $13.45 in Quebec, No. 446153). Another blend of syrah, grenache, mourvedre and carignan, it comes from the under-appreciated appellation of Saint-Chinian and is medium full-bodied and juicy. There's slightly warm alcohol here, though it's listed at 13 per cent, which is far from unreasonable for southern France. But there's plenty of sweet fruit and intriguing hints of chocolate and tobacco.

More widely available across the country, and decidedly different in style, is Wyndham Estate Bin 515 Shiraz Viognier 2008 ($16.45, No. 94219), a new blend launched in Canada from a popular Australian label.

Adopting the Côte-Rôtie region's formula - fermenting a small amount of white viognier with the red syrah - this wine still tastes very Australian. But it's far from the fat, Barossa-style shirazes you may be accustomed to at this price. As in many Côte-Rôtie wines of the northern Rhône, it has a big savoury edge on dense, dark-berry fruit. To me it conjures up blackberries, a nuance of tar, espresso coffee and violet. An excellent buy.

And widely available across the country is an excellent white wine buy, Wild Horse Canyon Chardonnay 2007 ($12.95 in B.C., No. 916502; $12.95 in Ontario, No. 54437; $12.99 in Manitoba, No. 4839). Yes, it's from a big producer and, yes, it's blended from vineyards all over the West Coast, but it's expertly made. It's medium-bodied and silky, with notes of sweet pear and crisp lemon. Very versatile.

Pick of the week

Château de Fontenelles Cuvée Notre Dame 2006 ($16.95, No. 106518) is a full-bodied blend of syrah, grenache and carignan.

bcrosariol@globeandmail.com